Posts tagged ‘simple’

Piping hot out of the oven, or room temperature on a sizzling summer day, roasted veggies serve as a perfect side dish to just about anything. The variety of flavors you can unearth from diverse spices and oils allow you to adapt your dish to go perfectly with a roast chicken, seared salmon, or simply grilled steak.

The irresistible crunchy, caramelized edges, warm tender center, and rustic quality remind me of Italy. There’s a time and place for perfectly cut vegetables, but it’s not in my kitchen. The more time I can spend enjoying the food and less time prepping the better, especially on a busy weeknight. No need to stress yourself over perfect knife cuts – I know chefs everywhere are cringing over that statement – but honestly, as long as they’re all about the same size they will cook evenly and that’s all you need.

The fresh, clean tang of ginger contrasted with the sweetness of the carrots help brighten their natural flavor. Garlic slowly warmed in the oven with a coating of healthy olive oil; mixed with the deep, creamy earthiness of butternut squash is a blissful combination. The two together were simply flawless, and set side by side with a grilled steak and you’ll feel like you’re in paradise (or an Italian vacation in the middle of Tuscany).

Garlicky Butternut Squash

Ingredients

2 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp. extra light olive oil

1 tbsp. black truffle infused olive oil

1 tsp. coarse ground salt

1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, coarse ground

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F

Wash and peel squash, and cut it into bite size squares.

Place squash in a glass baking dish and drizzle with extra light olive oil. Extra light olive oil has a higher burning temperature so I find it better for roasting. Due to valuable antioxidants and ability to help lower total cholesterol, I always use extra light olive oil as a substitute for butter, shortening and other vegetable oils.

Sprinkle with garlic, salt, ground black pepper and crushed red pepper and mix with a spoon until the squash is evenly coated with oil and seasoning.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 mins

After 30 mins, remove foil and continue baking for 10 minutes

Just before removing he dish from the oven, turn the broiler on high for a few minutes

Watch the oven, as the broiler will be hot and will burn the squash if left unattended. It goes quickly, all you’ll need is 2-3 mins. Once the butternut squash gets a slight golden color to the edges remove from oven and let cool for 5 mins before serving.

Ginger Carrots

Ingredients

8 large carrots, peeled and sliced

2 inch piece of ginger, grated

2 tbsp. extra light olive oil

1 tsp. course ground salt

1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper, course ground

2 tbsp. water

1/4 chicken bullion cube

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F

Place all the squash in a glass baking dish and drizzle with extra light olive oil. Extra light olive oil has a higher burning temperature so I find it better for roasting. Due to valuable antioxidants and ability to help lower total cholesterol, I always use extra light olive oil as a substitute for butter, shortening and other vegetable oils.

Sprinkle with garlic, salt and ground pepper and mix with a spoon until the squash is evenly coated with oil and seasoning.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 mins

After 30 mins, remove foil and continue baking for 10 minutes

Just before removing he dish from the oven, turn the broiler on high for a few minutes

Watch the oven, as the broiler will be hot and will burn the squash if left unattended. It goes quickly, all you’ll need is 2-3 mins. Once the butternut squash gets a slight golden color to the edges remove from oven and let cool for 5 mins before serving.

There’s one meal I don’t like to mess with, and that’s Thanksgiving. This is not a place where I tend to experiment. I threw together some fun appetizers, like prosciutto wrapped dates with balsamic glaze, and homemade hummus, but the main meal was pretty traditional. I have the rest of the year to play around and make up new combinations, but on the last Thursday of November I go back to my roots with mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, stuffing, gravy, roast carrots, and of course succulent, juicy turkey.

Photographer: Zoltan Sylvester

I have lots to do on Thanksgiving, so the last thing I want to be doing is mollycoddling my turkey every half hour. Basting, tenting, covering, uncovering. I really don’t have time for that when I’m also trying to get 6 other dishes out at the same time, not to mention trying to be somewhat social while all this goes down. I had many willing helpers in the kitchen, but I wanted people to enjoy themselves and relax so I commandeered the stove and told everyone else to beat it. (With love of course). Here’s my secret ingredient… bacon. Tasty, salty, greasy, crispy, meaty, perfect-with-almost-anything bacon. The turkey doesn’t come out tasting like one big pork rind, rather it’s a natural baster keeping the turkey juicy, tender and amazingly moist. You can leave it alone and let it cook in the oven and you’ll have perfect turkey every time, not to mention some crispy bacon on the side. Who wouldn’t come back to your house for Thanksgiving after serving this?!?

Hummus is one of my go to’s when organizing my list for party snacks. It’s far healthier than the traditional ranch dip (although that does have it’s place at times) and packs huge flavor in a small bite. It’s also an impeccable match for vegetables, breads, chips…. pretty much anything you like to dip. It’s one of those dishes that will leave you with a perfectly clean bowl and happy, full stomachs after every party.

Hummus is a Middle Eastern spread or dip made with chickpeas, which are also known as garbanzo beans. By themselves, I’m definitely not a fan, in fact, I hate them. I pick them out of soups and salads, and toss them away without the littlest thought. I find them mealy, dry and flaky and have no need for them. But all blended up in the food processor with some other goodies and they make a fantastically good dip! I can’t resist the creamy deliciousness that makes simple pita turn into a delicacy. Serve it with some olives and a glass of wine and you’ll feel like you’re on a Greek vacation… ok, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration but it will make your ordinary Tuesday something special.

Ingredients

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

4 cloves garlic

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup water

1 tsp. sesame seed oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

2 tbsp. lemon juice, about 1/2 lemon

Handful fresh cilantro

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line baking tray with foil, and spread the pine nuts out

Once oven is preheated, toast pine nuts for 10 mins. Keep your eye on them; if your oven runs hot or it’s touchy, you’ll want to check on them after 6-8 minutes to make sure they don’t burn. You can also do this in a dry skillet on medium heat.

Once they turn golden remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes

Add all ingredients with the exception of 1 tbsp. pine nuts and cilantro to the food processor. The reserved pine nuts will be your garnish

Pulse on high for 30 seconds until mixture is well blended

Add cilantro and pulse a few more times until cilantro is incorporated

If the mixture is too thick, add a little more water or olive oil, this is the time to taste it to see if the salt and spices are at the right level. Add a little more salt if needed but be careful, you can’t take back

Scoop hummus into serving bowl and garnish with the remaining pine nuts and a little olive oil

Serve with chips, pita bread, jicama, or carrots…. Anything you like to dip!

If you’re feeling like really treating yourself, you can make homemade pit chips to go with your hummus. They beat the ones from the store any day.

Ingredients

1 bag fresh pita (white or whole wheat)

4 tbsp.

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut pita bread into 8 wedges

Pour olive oil into a bowl and brush pita chips with olive oil on both sides.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Arrange pita chips on baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown

Water chestnuts are a texture food, and are prized for their crispness. They add a great crunch and slight earthiness to any salad, stir fry, or curry, and are a good source of potassium and fiber. When rummaging through my pantry the other night for something to add to my corn salad, I was excited to come across a can tucked way back in the corner.

Corn brightens any meal and it´s one of the most loved of all vegetables (at least it is for me). What can I say, I’m a corn addict, I love its naturally sweet taste, crisp bite and flavorful center. So in my effort to whip up something more interesting than steamed corn, I pulled a few ingredients together, tossed them in a pan, and 10 minutes later I had a gourmet side dish. I love that sweet corn turns a bit nutty when it’s sautéed, and the sweet flavor and crunchy texture of water chestnuts gives this dish a unique quality.

As the weather gets cooler, I’m always searching for warm side dishes over a summery salad, and this was an unexpected discovery. It would also make for a great topping for acorn or spaghetti squash, or a side to a juicy steak or meatloaf.

Ingredients

1 bag of frozen corn (or 2 cans of corn)

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced

1 can sliced water chestnuts, roughly chopped

1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

Handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Method

Heat a medium size skillet with oil on medium heat

Add onions and sprinkle with salt, let them cook down for about 5 minutes until they just start to go brown

Add corn and toss with another sprinkle of salt, if you use frozen corn pop it in the microwave for 4 minutes and drain the excess water. If you use canned corn drain the water before adding in the corn

Cook additional 5 minutes

Add water chestnuts, garlic powder and toss well

Let cook 5 minutes and taste to see if you need to add more salt or pepper. Toss the cilantro in right before serving

This can be served warm or at room temperature. It would be a great dish to bring to a BBQ or house party since it doesn’t take long to make and packs a lot of flavor, and it’s healthy so you can feel good about getting a second (or third) helping.

I was on my own for dinner the other night, and I was feeling like a pile of hot, tasty French fries. As I don’t have a fryer and don’t intend to get one, I went with the next best thing, sautéed potatoes with garlic and red pepper. In the end, they turned out much better than any French fries, and for some reason I felt better about eating them, even if I did finish the whole plate!

I like my potatoes with a nice, crispy coating, but they’re still soft and creamy in the inside. The only way to achieve this is to go low and slow. If you brown the potatoes too quickly, they won’t get cooked in the middle, so you need a little patience. I’ve tried par boiling the potatoes before sautéing, but they always seem to fall apart, so I just cut them up and drop them in the pan raw, that way they have a nice bite but still get cooked through. The vibrant color of the purple potatoes will turn any sautéed potatoes into a gourmet dish.

This is a dish that will always remind me of home, and more importantly my mom. She would make this for me on ‘special’ nights and to this day I’m still not sure why this was a ‘special’ dinner. Either way, I enjoyed it and would hold off eating any snacks for the afternoon in anticipation of warm polenta topped with bacon and cheese. This is a very easy, affordable dinner that only consists of 3 ingredients, can’t get much simpler than that!

There’s something warm and inviting about creamy polenta when it’s fried up in a skillet. It gets a delicate crisp coating on the outside, but the middle is smooth and creamy. The Parmesan cheese slowly melts on top, and the crispy, salty bite from the bacon give the dish a nice change of texture. It’s hard to imagine not liking this dish, after all it has bacon and cheese, what more could you want? Give it a try; I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients

1 round of pre-cooked polenta (you can make it from scratch but I like to make life easier)

1 packet of bacon, trimmed of excess fat

1/4 cup parmesan cheese (or 1/2 cup if you love it like me)

1 tbsp. olive oil

Method

Preheat skillet to medium~high

Cut bacon into bite size pieces with scissors directly into the pan

Stir occasionally for about 10 minutes until the bacon is crisp

When the bacon is nice and crispy, use a slotted spoon to remove from pan and place on a plate lined with paper towel to drain the excess oils

Wipe out pan with paper towel and add 1 tbsp. of olive oil and return to medium~high heat (you can also use the bacon fat instead of olive oil, your choice)

While pan heats up, take the round of cold polenta and slice into 1 inch thick pieces

Once oil is hot, carefully place the cut rounds of polenta into skillet

Cook for 6-8 minutes until golden brown and turn

Brown other side for 6-8 mins

Remove from pan

To serve, place polenta on plate, sprinkle crumbled bacon and Parmesan cheese on top

YUMMMMMMMMMM!

If you make Polenta from scratch, the basic ratio for polenta is 4 parts liquid to 1 part polenta. I recommend making 2 cups polenta and add a teaspoon of salt, cook as normal and then pour it into a shallow dish to set in the fridge (takes 2-3 hours). Then slice the polenta and fry up just as you did above.

I have a few salsa recipes in my repertoire, and I promise I will share all of them with you over time. This is one of the easiest, and it’s a perfect way for me to use up the peppers in my garden, as I can’t possible add jalapeños to every dish. Peppers seem to grow like weeds in Houston, they love the heat and humidity, and they seem to survive no matter what I do to them. If case you didn’t know I’m probably the only person you know who can kill a cactus (yes, I did).

When the peppers are cooked their sharp heat softens, and they take on an unexpected balance of sweetness and deep pepper flavor without the heat. The cilantro adds a nice freshness and gives the salsa vibrant specks of deep green. This salsa can vary in heat depending on the peppers; so if you have a batch of really spicy ones, only use 4-5 jalapeños.

Ingredients

6-8 jalapeño peppers

2-4 serrano peppers

6 cloves garlic

1/2 medium yellow onion

8 roma tomatoes

1 handful fresh cilantro

2 tsp salt

1 tsp lime juice (half a lime)

Method

Fill large pot half way with water (one big enough to cook pasta)

Drop in peeled gloves of garlic, onion, and jalapeños. There’s no need to chop or dice any of the ingredients, the food processor will take care of that later

Bring water to a light boil and let vegetables cook for 10 minutes

Drop in whole tomatoes and boil an addition 5-10 minutes until the skin of the tomatoes start to split

Remove from stove and pour all contents into strainer. You aren’t going to save any of the water, so you can do this directly in the sink

Let cool for 5-10 minutes until cool enough to touch

Remove tomatoes skins and pepper stems and put all the contents into a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a blender, but BE CAREFUL! Blenders don’t have vents so the hot contents will explode if you put it on high. Take a cloth and hold firmly on the lid while pulsing slowly. I would also recommend waiting another 5 minutes to cool, believe me, salsa burns are not fun.

Pulse on high for 15 seconds

Add lime juice, salt and cilantro and pulse until mixture is smooth

Taste test, it may need a little more salt and the only way you’ll know is by trying it!

Serve warm with tortilla chips

Feel free to mix up the pepper combination. This is one of those salsas that can one day be blazing hot, and others as mild as bell peppers… it all depends on the time of year and the jalapeños. Feel free to substitute more mellow peppers, which you can achieve with Ancho, Pasilla or Anaheim, all popular varieties you should be able to find in your local store.

Growing up in San Francisco I was lucky to have access to come of the best fish in the country, one of my favorites is Petrale sole. It’s a lean white fish about ½ an inch thick, with a mild favor that’s easily enhanced with mild spices and warm butter. Petrale sole is exclusively found in the Pacific Ocean, but it’s close relative the Dover sole is more common on the east coast. Both are beautifully delicate fish, perfect for a light dinner as we near the end of summer.

The key to cooking fish is cook it fast and don’t mess with it. Fish already has great flavor, so I try to keep my methods and spices simple as to not overwhelm the natural taste. I like to add a little touch of heat with either red pepper flakes or cayenne, but be light handed. Good luck, and I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb. Petrale sole

2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup semolina flour

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tbsp. butter

1 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Slice of lemon for garnish

Method

Mix flour, semolina, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper on a shallow plate. I find it easier to dust the fish on a plate vs a bowl, and you also use up less flour in the process.

While the pan heats, lay the fish in the flour mixture and coat evenly. It’s not like a batter, so it won’t be a thick layer, just an even dusting

Once the butter begins to foam, add fish and cook for 3 minutes

Flip and cook an additional 3 minutes. Petrale sole is very thin, so it doesn’t take long. You’re looking for a golden brown color on either side, which will give it a nice crust

Remove from pan and serve with a salad and potatoes

While I always encourage grilling, I would recommend it in this case. Petrale sole will fall apart on the grill as it usually comes without skin and won’t stand up on the wire rack. Leave grilling for something more hearty like salmon or tuna.

Want a new spin on your traditional steak and potatoes? Try adding a little wasabi! The buttery potatoes have a slow-rising, distinctive heat, which contrasts well with the juicy steak. In the summertime, there’s nothing quite like as satisfying as the smell of a big juice steak grilling over a hot fire. One of my favorite things in the perfectly charred crust, all the seasoning from the grill in one perfect bite. The grill may just be the best thing that ever happened to a steak.

To make my life a little easier, I bought mixed baby potatoes so I could avoid both peeling and chopping. I also like the look of the potatoes skins mashed in, it makes it feel more rustic and the skins contain many essential nutrients, so why throw that away? On a side note, I had a bad experience with my disposal and potato skins, so I try to avoid peeling at all costs… you can probably guess how that turned out. The small potatoes have a rich buttery texture so you have to add less milk and butter to get them to the right consistency.

Open up a nice bottle of red wine, relax, and enjoy your $40 steak house dinner in the comfort of your own home for a quarter of the price.

2 lbs. baby potatoes, washed (if they are varying in size, cut the large ones so they are all about the same, this way they cook at the same rate)

1 1/2 tbsp. wasabi (this varies depending on the heat you want, add a little less at first and try it, you can always add more but you can’t take it away)

3 tbsp. butter

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 – 1/2 cup milk

Salt to taste

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Method

Remove steaks from fridge 30 minutes before cooking and season well with salt and pepper. Rub the spices in so they don’t fall off on the grill. Then put them aside and let them warm up to room temperature.

Fill a medium size pot half full and bring to a boil on the stove

Once the water is boiling, add a generous portion of salt (at least a tablespoon) and add the potatoes.

Leave potatoes on a light boil with the lid off for 15-20 minutes. Check by sticking them with a knife, it is goes in without pressure they’re done.

While the potatoes boil, turn grill on high

When the grill is hot, place steaks on rack and cook on high (~500F) for 5 min per side to sear

Then turn grill down to medium (~350-400F) and cook an additional 7 min per side to cook the middle

If you use a meat thermometer (which you should feel no shame in using, especially if you are new to cooking meat) 130F in the middle is medium-rare, 140 is medium. It’s only about 1-2 minutes difference on the grill!

Pull the meat off and let is rest for 5-10 minutes before serving, this allows the meat juices to redistribute. If you cut into it immediately all the juice will run out and you’ll be left with dry steak.

While the meat rests, it’s mashing time!

Add cream, butter, salt and pepper (to taste) and mash. Please please please, buy yourself a 4 dollar masher. Please do not use an electric mixer, this beaks up the gluten in the potatoes and leaves you with tacky, sticky textured potatoes.

Slowly add the milk, add about ¼ – ½ a cup, more or less depending on the texture you’re looking for. I don’t mash my potatoes until they are completely creamy, I like a little texture, so a few lumps are ok with me… plus the skin helps give it a rustic feel.

Add the wasabi at the end and mix with a spoon, add it slowly and taste as you go along to get the appropriate heat level for you and your guests. I didn’t want to use the powdered wasabi I found in the grocery store (maybe one of you have tried it, and if so please let me know how it is), so I stopped by my local Japanese restaurant and asked them for a small side of wasabi.

Once you’re finished mashing, your meat has rested and you are ready to dig in.

Time to switch up the usual Sunday pot roast for braised short ribs. Similar to pot roast, this is a one pot meal that takes little time to prepare but yields unbelievable results. I’m always amazed at the complexity of flavor that evolves without having to do anything but stick it in a pot, pop it in the oven and forget about it until dinner.

This would be great for a dinner party, since you can prep everything ahead of time and take it out of the oven when your guests arrive. You could even make it the day before and then reheat it on the stove, my only recommendation would be to test the broth the second day to make sure it didn’t concentrate too much, if so, just add a little chicken or beef stock. The depth of flavor develops as it braises, and it’s almost impossible to over cook. Who doesn’t like fall off the bone ribs? Pop in some carrots and potatoes after a few hours and they will cook in the meat juices… there you have it, a side dish!

5 lbs. beef short ribs (mine were bone out, but bone in will help develop a richer flavor so that would be my recommendation if I make this again)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 small jalapeno peppers, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, diced

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 1/2 cup red wine

1/3 cup red-wine vinegar

1 quart chicken or beef stock

1 cup water

1 beef bouillon cube

3 fresh thyme sprigs

6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped

3 fresh rosemary sprigs, finely chopped

2 dried bay leaves

3 handfuls baby carrots (or 3 large carrots, diced)

2 handfuls of small potatoes

Method

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Make sure ribs are dry, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a wide 6-8 quart heavy pot over medium-high heat, then brown ribs on all sides. I used tongs to turn them every 4-5 minutes and sear them on each side. When done, remove from the pot and leave them on a plate until later.

In the same pan, reduce heat to medium and add onion, jalapeño, garlic and sprinkle with salt. Cook about 6 minutes until the onions are translucent.

Stir in tomato paste, red wine, vinegar, stock and water and bring to a light boil for 5 minutes.

Remove from oven when meat is tender, stick a fork in it and twist, if it moves easily it’s done.

Let stand, uncovered, until fat rises to surface, about 15 minutes, then skim fat with a metal spoon.

Pull chunks off meat off with tongs and serve in a bowl. Remember to grab some off the potatoes and carrots and spoon on lots of broth.

We had this over the weekend, and the meat was perfectly tender and had amazing flavor. I served it on a plate with a side of potatoes, carrots and zucchini hash. In the process of cleaning up I took a spoonful of broth to see how it tasted on it’s own and it was AMAZING! I highly recommend serving this in a bowl (I put it on a plate so I didn’t get enough broth but will know better next time). The broth is where all the wonderful flavor lies, you can taste the garlic, herbs, meat juices…. it’s divine. I’d treat this more like a meaty stew so you get a good portion of brothy goodness to meaty ribs.